The Living Things International Arts festival is a celebration of the sensuality, pleasure, and power of live performance.
The third iteration of Living Things runs from January 11 to February 9 and includes performances from the United Kingdom, the USA, Montreal, Vancouver, and the Okanagan Valley.

“This festival is all about the simple but profoundly satisfying magic of the stage,” says Neil Cadger, organizer of the festival. “It is about the incredible things that people do live on stage, sometimes so silly, that they are hilariously funny.”

Throughout the festival, live public installations will take place in the FINA Gallery, and student and faculty exhibitions will be at the Alternator Gallery.

What Would You Do In A White Box

In addition to the many performances planned for the festival, an open call has gone out inviting local artists, students and performers to submit work to be shown in the FINA Gallery on campus. The call is asking for interactive or relational art that has minimal or no environmental footprint. Five different artists will be chosen, each occupying the space for one day between January 21-25, 2019
contact ltartsfest@gmail.com for details.

The festival is organized by FCCS prof, Neil Cadger and supported by City of Kelowna, the Canada Council, the BC Arts Council, the centre culturel francophone, UBC Okanagan’s FCCS, the Curious Café, and the Mission Group. It is also supported by a generous and enthusiastic group of volunteers including a number of alumni from creative studies who are contributing their skills to the production of graphics, writing for grant applications, the publicity and marketing for the festival, all of the components that make up the festival.

Tickets can be purchased online, and make the perfect Christmas gift! More about the festival line up of performers and ticket information: www.LivingThingsFestival.com

Now running for 21 years, the short story contest has a long tradition of introducing new and emerging writers to the Okanagan community. The competition is open to fiction writers in the Southern Interior of British Columbia: east of Hope, west of the Alberta border, north of the US border and south of Williams Lake.

The Okanagan Short Story Contest is organized by UBC Okanagan’s Faculty of Creative and Critical studies (FCCS). Prize sponsors include the Kelowna Capital News, the Central Okanagan Foundation and the Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Foundation.

Dania Tomlinson, lecturer with UBC Okanagan's Creative Writing Program and previous contest winner, will have the task of selecting the best new short stories.

“Competitions like the Okanagan Short Story Contest are where most writers get their start,” Tomlinson says. “In fact, this competition in particular holds a special place in my heart and winning the contest in 2016 marked the beginning of my professional writing career. It’s so important for writers, both new and veteran, to send their work out.”

All original entries must be between 1,000 and 4,000 words and writers are welcome to submit as many entries as they choose. There is a $15 entry fee for each story, but no charge for high school students. All proceeds go towards the FCCS Creative Writing scholarships at UBC Okanagan.

“Besides strong characterization, what I value most in short fiction is cohesion: when a variety of aspects—imagery, voice and structure—parallel or answer to one another without it feeling contrived,” says Tomlinson. “A story that accomplishes cohesion creates its own symbolism, its own logic.”

The deadline to submit stories is Jan 31.

Winners will be announced in March at a public event where short-listed authors will be invited to read from their work.

The first-place author will win $1,000, second-place will receive $400 and third-place will receive $200. Top high school student will also win a $200 prize.

When MA English student Kyla Morris began her work as a teaching assistant for first-year English, in September, 2018, she was struck by an idea, and she ran with it.

One of the required readings for the class stood out to Morris. She’d never met the author but she knew well one of his close friends (her aunt, as it happens). That was her “in,” as she reached out to him, asking if he’d consider speaking to all 192 undergraduate students registered in the course.

The result? An hour-long, “Q&A” teleconference between Yann Martel and students, organized and facilitated by Morris herself, about Life of Pi—the Man Booker-winning novel that has sold 15 million copies worldwide, in at least 40 different languages. Director Ang Lee’s version of it won four Academy Awards in 2012.

Morris jokes, now, about the “absence of any useful tips on the internet for ‘how to write an email to a world-famous author who knows your aunt.’” She refers to the writing of that first email as “one of the most nerve-wracking moments” of her life. But she had one goal in mind, and she stayed focused on it: “to foster our students’ interest in English and the book.”

As she goes on to explain, “I had the ability to give our students a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ask Yann Martel directly what they wanted to know about the book. My hope was that the ability to ask these questions would foster deeper discussion of the novel’s complexities and themes, and encourage students to move beyond a surface-level interaction with the text.”

The experience, for students, was rewarding and illuminating. While Morris collected questions from students in advance and sparked conversation by asking these, she invited follow-up questions, and the discussion was lively. Martel’s responses were robust, wide-ranging, frank, and eye-opening.

Once-in-a-lifetime aptly describes the class. Congratulations to Kyla Morris for making it happen! A big thanks, too, to Auntie Victoria Morris and, of course, Yann Martel.

What: Portfolio Day and Creative Days at UBC OkanaganWho: Prospective students for UBC’s Visual Arts BFA programWhen: Portfolio Day is Saturday, January 12, from 10 a.m. to noon; Multiple dates for Creative DaysWhere: Creative and Critical Studies building, 1148 Research Road, UBC’s Okanagan Campus

UBC Okanagan’s Faculty of Creative and Critical studies is encouraging high school students, interested fine arts options at the university, to come to campus.

Starting in November, several Creative Day Workshops are planned for the coming months. These events, specifically for prospective applicants to the Visual Arts Bachelor of Fine Arts Program or anyone interested in pursuing visual arts courses at UBC’s Okanagan campus, provide a chance to learn about the program and campus facilities through fun, hands-on projects.

Participants will work with faculty and staff, and have the chance to meet and talk with current students about program choices. Seats are limited for some of the sessions, so pre-registration is encouraged. To register, contact Visual Arts program coordinator Briar Craig at Briar.Craig@ubc.ca or 250 807-9765. Please see the attached poster for information about specific workshops.

For Portfolio Day on January 12, prospective applicants should bring no more than 10 artworks or images, and (or) up to three short videos which illustrate their best work while showing a range of explored media. Original artwork including finished pieces, works in progress, and sketchbooks are preferred. Prospective students can also present a digital portfolio on a laptop. Portfolio day is an opportunity to get advice on building an entrance portfolio and obtain pre-approval for the portfolio requirement as part of your application to the Visual Arts BFA program at UBC Okanagan.

About UBC's Okanagan campus
UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning in the heart of British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. Ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world, UBC is home to bold thinking and discoveries that make a difference. Established in 2005, the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

The Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies and Okanagan College Arts & Foundational Programs are please to present this new film series, Welcome to the Anthropocene: Now What?

The Anthropocene is a term increasingly entering public and policy discourses, including those of the humanities and social sciences, and it is understood as a force now altering the planet’s biosphere and implicating human-kind in mass extinctions of plant and animal species, the pollution of the oceans, deforestation and the alteration of the atmosphere, among other serious and even irreversible impacts.

While there is already ubiquitous evidence/data available regarding the Anthropocene, including climate change, environmental degradation, unsustainable water usage, deforestation and hothouse conditions, pollution, etc., the aim of this film series is to bring us to the “Now what?” a question that is not merely rhetorical but one that has local and global import.

All films will be held in the Okanagan College Theatre, Kelowna Campus (1000 K.L.O Road), from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Discussion will follow each film.

Film Series Schedule:

October 25, 2018 - Anthropocene
November 29, 2018 - Before the Flood
January 30, 2019 - H.O.P.E. : What You Eat Matters
February 27, 2019 - The End of Meat
March 27, 2019 - Speciesism: The Movie
April 25, 2019 - Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home

Squash & Stretch is an intensive animation challenge that engages industry animators and emerging animators alike to create a short film in 48 hours.

All members will receive industry mentorship and experience in the areas of character development, storytelling, animation, illustration, and presentation skills. We will form teams by combining participants with diverse skill-sets who will then collaborate to finesse new ideas. Local industry leaders will guide groups throughout the process of completing their films.

Why you should attend Squash & Stretch

work with a team to build a short animated for your portfolio

learn about and practice new skills — challenge yourself

valuable connections that will last a lifetime

mentorship from industry experts and leading thinkers and doers

STUDENTS!

Tickets for you are $35 dollars to secure your spot OR you can apply to get 1 of 10 free passes by filling out this form. These spots are limited though.

Three days of events include workshops, talks and field trips

An international symposium on bees—with topics ranging from their health to their importance—takes place in Kelowna this month.

The Border Free Bees Symposium is attracting local, national and international collaborators as well as volunteers, partners and bee supporters. The symposium runs from October 12 to 14 at a number of local venues. Organizer Nancy Holmes encourages the public to get involved.

Holmes, an associate professor at UBC Okanagan’s Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, is a representative of Border Free Bees, which has projects in the lower mainland, the United States and Mexico.

“There are many opportunities to get involved including talks, an interactive map project, and informal dinner, a field trip, or enjoying short, vivid ‘Buzz Talks’ by our collaborating artists and international partners,” says Holmes. “There will also be opportunities to brainstorm about ways to help pollinators thrive in our communities.”

The public events begin with a free talk by Mace Vaughan of the renowned insect conservation organization, The Xerces Society. Vaughan, who supervises the largest pollinator conservation team in the US, will give a talk called Bring Back the Pollinators: What You Need to Know to Save Native Bees on October 12 at the Laurel Packinghouse, 1304 Ellis St., at 7 p.m.

“The incredible enthusiasm of the Kelowna community made the Okanagan a natural choice for this symposium,” says Holmes. “We have started many projects here and we want the momentum to continue. We are inviting people to participate in planning the next steps.”

The symposium continues throughout the weekend with talks, workshops and field trips with scientists, artists and international partners. A banquet takes place Saturday, October 13 and will feature a keynote talk by Victoria Wojcik, the Canadian Research Director of the Pollinator Partnership, a North American organization devoted to the protection and promotion of pollinators. Tickets are $50 or $40 for seniors and students.

The weekend wraps up with a plant rescue field trip; participants will retrieve plants from land slated for development and replant them at Kelowna’s Pollinator Pasture. Information about this, or other symposium events, can be found at: borderfreebees.com/border-free-bees-symposium

The Symposium is supported by UBC, the Social Sciences Research Council of Canada and the Kelowna Museums Society. Some events have a small fee to cover costs. People can get more information at info@borderfreebees.com or nancy.holmes@ubc.ca.

About UBC's Okanagan campus

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning in the heart of British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. Ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world, UBC is home to bold thinking and discoveries that make a difference. Established in 2005, the Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.